W.P. Carey CFO Hisham Kader to resign; ToniAnn Sanzone appointed interim chief financial officer

W.P. Carey Inc. chief financial officer Hisham Kader announced on Thursday he will resign next month to relocate to Boston and take over as CFO of a private real estate company, marking the second departure this year of a senior executive. In February, W.P. Carey's former CEO, Trevor Bond, resigned to pursue other interests. The company's chief accounting officer, ToniAnn Sanzone, has been appointed interim CFO. Last year, W.P Carey said it was going through a strategic review and was exploring the idea of breaking up into three real estate businesses: a U.S. net lease REIT that would own and manage domestic commercial properties, an international net lease unit, and an asset management company to create nontraded REITs and other alternative investments. In May, the company said it was not going to break up but rather focus on growing its real estate portfolio through acquisitions of individual properties and portfolios while also evaluating strategic acquisitions to enhance portfolio value and grow adjusted funds from operation per share. “On behalf of the company, I want to thank Hisham for his many contributions to W.P. Carey during his five years with us,” said the firm's CEO, Mark DeCesaris, in a statement. "We have both a strong and tenured management team — with an average of 15 years with W. P. Carey — and talented employees throughout the organization, so we have no concerns over stability."